Using internet-driven tech for more than just publishing/publicity?
Something I've noticed about most of the discussion that occurs regarding IT & unions is that the internet is often regarded as a communications medium or a publishing platform. And it is, of course. We all wish that unions would make smarter use of the communications innovations that have grown out of the internet.
But what about web-based open-source software to promote better internal organizing, though? Instead of seeing the web as a series of external communications innovations (blogs, participatory debate, etc) how can labor use it as an application platform for improved membership management and research?
Most of us are probably familiar with the social networking sites. What if a union's membership roster were tracked this way? Instead of being an entry in a large, visually inconvenient Access database, a union member's vitals, history and participation rate (how dedicated to the union they are, leadership potential, attendance to actions) could be available and updated by an organizer in a more user-friendly manner. Many locals could benefit from tracking even more information on their members (affiliated religious community for example) that could be leveraged in organizing campaigns, but don't because so much information is difficult to manage. A MySQL/PHP driven site could simplify many of these tasks. Also important, a resource-strapped local would need to pay nothing for that open-source membership tracking platform.
Access to such a network could be available from any computer connected to the internet, behind robust security protections, of course. If information on a member is desired, instead of having to depend on the organizer "assigned" to that workplace or whatever, anyone with a PDA could draw on that information. Organizers in the field, particularly in large, multi-state locals, could find this useful.
Additionally, what about web-based labor research databases? I believe that SEIU has something like this, though I've never seen it (do they?). There are only so many companies active in a given sector of the economy, or operating within a particular region of the country that multi-union coordinated organizing campaigns, the kind that have been promised by Change to Win for example, could greatly benefit from having as much information accessible to all parties of the organizing drive as possible. Does this exist anywhere?
One of the few advantages that labor can gain against corporate interests is possessing and utilizing the right information. If this is not done wisely, then we will have missed yet another opportunity for implementing the advantages of IT. What do others think? What parts of this have already been implemented, and where? Who's doing this?
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yup, friendster is the future
A friend of a friend - the fellow who founded Tickle.com - once told me that a social-networking site is "just another way to look at the database."
And he's right. Most membership databases are just flat sets of data on individual persons. But, if you have relationship data between people - then you have the makings of a social-networking site.
Most labor unions already have most of that data, they just don't know it - or can't tie it all together. We know which people work at a given work-site. We know the hierarchical structures, both at work and in the union. And we have historical data on these things.
If an investment in technology were made to combine and connect all this data - and then turned it public-facing (at least inside the union), there would exist tremendous power in the network.
democratizing the info
As Clyde Summers wrote, US unions are organized like one-party states. One important consequence of this is that the incumbent leadership has tremendous advantages when it comes to campaigning for re-election. Challengers have to reinvent the wheel, creating a list of contacts, collecting addresses, emails, phone #s etc. But incumbents have de facto access to all of this, and can engage in campaigning incidental to their union duties.
Is it possible to implement a "membership tracking platform" without making this situation worse? It is not hard to imagine how abusive this system could be in the hands of unscrupulous officials. Would the data be available to all union members, on an equal basis, for example in union elections? Would I, as a member, have the ability to manage my own data -- or would someone else's assessment of my "loyalty" or "skills" be part of my record in the union?
I like the idea of using social networking for union internal organization, but how about an open, voluntary, self-organized social network, equally accessible to all members/officers?
re: democratizing the info
I would suggest that two tiers of information be identified, separating contact information and participation or activism history. Probably the first should be available to all members, or at least electoral candidates, because even in the case of a security breach the employer has all this info anyhow. The other info should probably be better guarded, and wouldn't be so useful for electoral challengers.
Also, if the data were made editable by the membership, would it be a bad idea to depend on members to update their own info? Maybe a member could update it, but is not expected to - hopefully the organizer would still work on this info collection.